Most vegetables above Tk 50

Dhaka city dwellers were seen gathering at kitchen markets of the capital in a fit of panic buying of daily essentials after the government imposed a week long lockdown because of the rapid rise of Covid cases and mortalities in the country.

The buyers at the kitchen markets were seemed to be suffering as the prices of some of the essentials are rising too. Sellers were ready to give an explanation of this rise of prices with just a simple reason that the goods are unable to reach them so the prices are high. Although there are not many people on the roads of the capital in the second day of lockdown, but there is a different picture in the markets. The trade is actually going well despite the rise of prices. Crowds of buyers were seen at Kawran Bazar, Farmgate and Mohammadpur kitchen markets. Prices of fish and vegetables are not very affordable, but as still people need to survive these restricted and deadly situations by having something to eat. Hunger will kill them faster than Covid. Crowds of shoppers can be seen in every market but the shopkeepers are not satisfied. They want more buyers.

A man named Shojib Ahmed, who was visiting the market told. “The prices are high, especially the prices of vegetables are skyrocketing. Price of packaged products has come down a bit but there’s no help in decreasing a product price by only Tk 5 which was increased by Tk 20 last month. Very few people think about the middle class people, we work till our sweat dries to earn money to feed our family but that money disappears in half when we visit the kitchen markets to buy the daily essentials.” Many buyers like Shojib were seemed to be very frustrated with rise in prices and also with the behavior of the sellers. 

The sellers in the kitchen markets said that many people are trying to understand the situations on the first two days of an all-out lockdown. Besides, it has been raining since Thursday, which is why many people are not leaving their homes. Those who market regularly every Friday also did not come out. Sales of goods by vans have also declined on the roads of the capital. Both buyers and sellers are normal on Friday than ever before. Md. Aslam, a trader in Kaptan Bazar, said the price of chicken had not gone up due to the lockdown. On the contrary, the price has come down to Tk 20 as compared to the last few days. He said that he was selling golden chicken at Tk 220 per kg. He mentioned that two or three days ago he had sold this chicken at Tk 250 per kg. Meanwhile, the price of fish has come down a bit. 

It can be seen in the vegetable market that even though there are less buyers in there, eggplants are being sold at 40 to 50 taka per kg, cucumber 50 taka per kg, gourd 50 taka per kg, 50 taka per kg of potato, snake bean is being sold at Tk 60, carrots at Tk 100, ripe tomatoes at Tk 100. No vegetables are being sold less than 50 taka, which seems to be a headache and thing of worry for the consumers. 

Despite the announcement of a reduction in the price of edible oil in the ongoing lockdown, the opposite has happened. At the same time, the price of onion has also gone up. On Friday, several markets in the capital were visited and it was known that the oil prices did not changed a bit. On June 30, the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vegetable Manufacturers Association, an organization of edible oil refiners and marketers, announced a reduction of Tk 4 per liter in the price of soybean oil. Although the new price is said to be effective from Thursday, it has been seen on the spot that a liter of soybean oil is being sold at Tk 150 per liter and open oil is being sold at Tk 130 per liter. Many people of different classes of life were seemed to be very worried with these complications in prices. Now there main concern is what to eat and how to afford it in these difficult situations.